Kejadian 4:1

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now ¹  the man had marital relations with ²  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ³  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁴  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵ 

Kejadian 6:4

6:4 The Nephilim ⁶  were on the earth in those days (and also after this) ⁷  when the sons of God were having sexual relations with ⁸  the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. ⁹  They were the mighty heroes ¹⁰  of old, the famous men. ¹¹ 

Kejadian 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ¹²  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ¹³  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ¹⁴  Abram did what ¹⁵  Sarai told him.

Kejadian 16:4

16:4 He had sexual relations with ¹⁶  Hagar, and she became pregnant. ¹⁷  Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. ¹⁸ 

Kejadian 38:8-9

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ¹⁹  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ²⁰  up a descendant for your brother.” ²¹  38:9 But Onan knew that the child ²²  would not be considered his. ²³  So whenever ²⁴  he had sexual relations with ²⁵  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ²⁶  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

Kejadian 38:14-30

38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ²⁷  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ²⁸ 

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ²⁹  because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ³⁰  (He did not realize ³¹  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ³²  38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” ³³  38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. ³⁴  She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, ³⁵  removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ³⁶  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ³⁷  but Hirah ³⁸  could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, ³⁹  “Where is the cult prostitute ⁴⁰  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things ⁴¹  for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. ⁴²  I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

38:24 After three months Judah was told, ⁴³  “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, ⁴⁴  and as a result she has become pregnant.” ⁴⁵  Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word ⁴⁶  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ⁴⁷  Then she said, “Identify ⁴⁸  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ⁴⁹  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ⁵⁰  again.

38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child ⁵¹  put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. ⁵²  She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” ⁵³  So he was named Perez. ⁵⁴  38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. ⁵⁵ 

Ulangan 25:5

Respect for the Sanctity of Others

25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, ⁵⁶  and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. ⁵⁷ 

Yesaya 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁵⁸ 

They will say, “We will provide ⁵⁹  our own food,

we will provide ⁶⁰  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁶¹  –

take away our shame!” ⁶² 

[4:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:1]  ³ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).

[4:1]  sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated Lord) was first revealed to Moses (see also Exod 3:14), it is odd to see it used in quotations in Genesis by people who lived long before Moses. This problem has been resolved in various ways: (1) Source critics propose that Exod 6:3 is part of the “P” (or priestly) tradition, which is at odds with the “J” (or Yahwistic) tradition. (2) Many propose that “name” in Exod 6:3 does not refer to the divine name per se, but to the character suggested by the name. God appeared to the patriarchs primarily in the role of El Shaddai, the giver of fertility, not as Yahweh, the one who fulfills his promises. In this case the patriarchs knew the name Yahweh, but had not experienced the full significance of the name. In this regard it is possible that Exod 6:3b should not be translated as a statement of denial, but as an affirmation followed by a rhetorical question implying that the patriarchs did indeed know God by the name of Yahweh, just as they knew him as El Shaddai. D. A. Garrett, following the lead of F. Andersen, sees Exod 6:2-3 as displaying a paneled A/B parallelism and translates them as follows: (A) “I am Yahweh.” (B) “And I made myself known to Abraham…as El Shaddai.” (A') “And my name is Yahweh”; (B') “Did I not make myself known to them?” (D. A. Garrett, Rethinking Genesis, 21). However, even if one translates the text this way, the Lord’s words do not necessarily mean that he made the name Yahweh known to the fathers. God is simply affirming that he now wants to be called Yahweh (see Exod 3:14-16) and that he revealed himself in prior times as El Shaddai. If we stress the parallelism with B, the implied answer to the concluding question might be: “Yes, you did make yourself known to them – as El Shaddai!” The main point of the verse would be that El Shaddai, the God of the fathers, and the God who has just revealed himself to Moses as Yahweh are one and the same. (3) G. J. Wenham suggests that pre-Mosaic references to Yahweh are the product of the author/editor of Genesis, who wanted to be sure that Yahweh was identified with the God of the fathers. In this regard, note how Yahweh is joined with another divine name or title in Gen 9:26-27; 14:22; 15:2, 8; 24:3, 7, 12, 27, 42, 48; 27:20; 32:9. The angel uses the name Yahweh when instructing Hagar concerning her child’s name, but the actual name (Ishma-el, “El hears”) suggests that El, not Yahweh, originally appeared in the angel’s statement (16:11). In her response to the angel Hagar calls God El, not Yahweh (16:13). In 22:14 Abraham names the place of sacrifice “Yahweh Will Provide” (cf. v. 16), but in v. 8 he declares, “God will provide.” God uses the name Yahweh when speaking to Jacob at Bethel (28:13) and Jacob also uses the name when he awakens from the dream (28:16). Nevertheless he names the place Beth-el (“house of El”). In 31:49 Laban prays, “May Yahweh keep watch,” but in v. 50 he declares, “God is a witness between you and me.” Yahweh’s use of the name in 15:7 and 18:14 may reflect theological idiom, while the use in 18:19 is within a soliloquy. (Other uses of Yahweh in quotations occur in 16:2, 5; 24:31, 35, 40, 42, 44, 48, 50, 51, 56; 26:22, 28-29; 27:7, 27; 29:32-35; 30:24, 30; 49:18. In these cases there is no contextual indication that a different name was originally used.) For a fuller discussion of this proposal, see G. J. Wenham, “The Religion of the Patriarchs,” Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, 189-93.

[6:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word נְפִילִים (nÿfilim) is simply transliterated here, because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of humankind” (v. 2), but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner. The Nephilim are mentioned in the OT only here and in Num 13:33, where it is stated that they were giants (thus KJV, TEV, NLT “giants” here). The narrator observes that the Anakites of Canaan were descendants of the Nephilim. Certainly these later Anakite Nephilim could not be descendants of the antediluvian Nephilim (see also the following note on the word “this”).

[6:4]  ⁷ tn This observation is parenthetical, explaining that there were Nephilim even after the flood. If all humankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, died in the flood, it is difficult to understand how the postdiluvian Nephilim could be related to the antediluvian Nephilim or how the Anakites of Canaan could be their descendants (see Num 13:33). It is likely that the term Nephilim refers generally to “giants” (see HALOT 709 s.v. נְפִילִים) without implying any ethnic connection between the antediluvian and postdiluvian varieties.

[6:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “were entering to,” referring euphemistically to sexual intercourse here. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the ongoing nature of such sexual unions during the time before the flood.

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they gave birth to them.” The masculine plural suffix “them” refers to the “sons of God,” to whom the “daughters of humankind” bore children. After the Qal form of the verb יָלָד (yalad, “to give birth”) the preposition לְ (lÿ, “to”) introduces the father of the child(ren). See Gen 16:1, 15; 17:19, 21; 21:2-3, 9; 22:23; 24:24, 47; 25:2, etc.

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn The parenthetical/explanatory clause uses the word הַגִּבֹּרִים (haggibborim) to describe these Nephilim. The word means “warriors; mighty men; heroes.” The appositional statement further explains that they were “men of renown.” The text refers to superhuman beings who held the world in their power and who lived on in ancient lore outside the Bible. See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 45-46; C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:379-80; and Anne D. Kilmer, “The Mesopotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nephilim,” Perspectives on Language and Text, 39-43.

[6:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “men of name” (i.e., famous men).

[16:2]  ¹² tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:2]  sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.

[16:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.

[16:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)

[16:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.

[38:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:8]  ²⁰ tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.

[38:8]  ²¹ sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.

[38:9]  ²² tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ²³ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ²⁴ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  sn The text makes it clear that the purpose of the custom was to produce an heir for the deceased brother. Onan had no intention of doing that. But he would have sex with the girl as much as he wished. He was willing to use the law to gratify his desires, but was not willing to do the responsible thing.

[38:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[38:14]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.

[38:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”

[38:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.

[38:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ³² tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:17]  ³³ tn Heb “until you send.”

[38:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.

[38:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.

[38:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”

[38:20]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.

[38:21]  ⁴⁰ sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.

[38:23]  ⁴¹ tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:23]  ⁴² tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.

[38:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”

[38:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.

[38:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”

[38:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.

[38:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “who these to him.”

[38:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”

[38:26]  ⁴⁹ tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”

[38:26]  sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.

[38:26]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:28]  ⁵¹ tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁵² tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁵³ tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”

[38:29]  ⁵⁴ sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.

[38:30]  ⁵⁵ sn Perhaps the child was named Zerah because of the scarlet thread. Though the Hebrew word used for “scarlet thread” in v. 28 is not related to the name Zerah, there is a related root in Babylonian and western Aramaic that means “scarlet” or “scarlet thread.” In Hebrew the name appears to be derived from a root meaning “to shine.” The name could have originally meant something like “shining one” or “God has shined.” Zerah became the head of a tribe (Num 26:20) from whom Achan descended (Josh 7:1).

[25:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”

[25:5]  ⁵⁷ sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).

[4:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.

[4:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁶² sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.